


A Midsummer Night's Wish

by NicoleCollard



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Day 3: Vacation, Dorne, F/M, Holidays, Jaime/Brienne Appreciation Week 2019, Summer Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-11-22 04:43:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20868392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicoleCollard/pseuds/NicoleCollard
Summary: A group of coworkers go to the beach together to celebrate Summer Solstice.





	A Midsummer Night's Wish

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ikkiM](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikkiM/gifts).

> Day 3 of JB Week 2019! I tried to write another drabble, but apparently, my brain doesn't know what a drabble is.
> 
> This work is gifted to Mikki, because I know she likes modern AUs, and this is my first one ever. Thanks for your hard work, your patience and good mood always.
> 
> I'm not a native English speaker, so forgive all my mistakes. Enjoy, everyone!

Brienne had never been a people person. When she was a kid, she had been abused in school for her impressive height, her freckles, her teeth... Anything was a perfect excuse to mock her. The boys were afraid of her because she always beat them in every sport she practised, and the girls never tried to bond with her because they didn't consider Brienne one of them.

The abuse hadn't stopped when she had left school. It went on throughout the years, in uni, in every job she had got. As she kept growing older, the abuse had become more subtle, but more conscious, too, since now it were the adults who mocked her.

Her bad experiences with people had made Brienne a wary person. She didn't hang out with colleagues and she barely had friends.

That's why she found the new job she had got two years ago at a bookstore so confusing and refreshing at the same time. Everyone was so 'normal'... Even kind to her. They didn't pay attention to her physical traits, apparently, or they didn't make a fuss of them at least. Perhaps because all of them were broken things somehow.

Samwell was a wise and hard-working young man, but Brienne was sure his fleshy cheeks and rounded body had granted him a lot of hateful insults in his life.

Bran had a privileged memory. He remembered so many things that it seemed he had a whole library inside his head. He had Asperger's too, though, and Brienne was sure nobody had ever taken the trouble to try to understand his special traits and peculiarities. Besides, he needed a wheelchair to move, which hadn't helped his integration either.

Missandei was a foreigner. The Essosi girl spoke five languages fluently and she was as elegant and beautiful as a panther. The "problem" with her was that she was black, and though Westeros kept evolving positively in matters of equality and integration, there were still too many racists that enjoyed making her life impossible, so she used to keep a low profile wherever she went.

Their boss, Davos, was a kind middle-aged man who had never gone to school as a kid. So when he grew up, he decided to study the basics to start up this business he currently ran: a bookstore, no more, no less. He still struggled to read sometimes, and his employees knew he had a bit of an inferiority complex that affected all the decisions he made.

And last but not least, there was Jaime. He might be the most handsome man Brienne had ever met in her life. His once golden hair was now salt and pepper, and he sported a manly beard that she found very attractive. He had the looks of a movie star. But he lacked a right hand. His famous and wealthy family, the Lannisters, had practically disowned him when he had lost it five years ago trying to save a young girl from rape in the streets. He then had to relearn how to live without his dominant hand and without his family's support. Sometimes, he made sarcastic comments and, at first sight, one could think he was a self-deprecating cynic. But Brienne knew better. She had constantly spotted glimpses of his altruism and generosity, which had made her fall in love with Jaime in a couple of months.

Despite their differences, it was the first time in her life that Brienne felt she belonged. They weren't exactly friends, but all of them were comfortable working with each other, because everyone respected the rest.

So when Davos suggested a three-day trip to Dorne together during their upcoming holidays, all of them were instantly up for it.

And that was how they found themselves today at sunset on a Dornish beach. It had been the longest day Brienne remembered in years. According to the Citadel, today would mark the first day of a long Summer. Everybody was celebrating the high temperatures and the promise of light around them. A lot of groups had set bonfires on the beach, and the bravest people (or the most thoughtless ones) even dared to jump over the fire. Traditions...

Their group was calmer, though. As part of the Summer Solstice celebrations, it was also a tradition that people wrote on a piece of paper the things they wanted to get rid of, or the bad things that had happened to them, or even their darkest fears. Then they threw the pieces of paper into the fire and the flames burnt the negativity. And that was supposed to make everyone feel freer and happier. Everyone in their group had done it, because all of them could use some good vibes for a change. After the ceremony, they all had clapped, cheered and hugged. Then they had relaxed their own way while the sun set. Sam had brought his girlfriend Gilly and both were walking along the beach, while Bran had invited one of his sisters, an elusive girl called Arya that didn't speak much. Missandei and her boyfriend Torgo Nudho were practising some acrobatics on the sand, laughing carefree together. And Davos and his wife were talking to another middle-aged couple from the Stormlands they had met at the hotel.

Meanwhile, Brienne -who hadn't brought anyone to the trip- sat on the sand staring at the flames of the nearest bonfire, letting the soft sea breeze play with her short hair. Suddenly, Jaime -the only other one of the group who had travelled alone- appeared out of the blue and sat right beside her.

"Are you planning on jumping, wench?", he asked with a mischievous smile.

"Not at all. I'm not that irresponsible", she answered shaking her head.

"I could jump. I'm agile enough."

"No, you're not", Brienne frowned. Jaime was very capable of doing something as stupid as jumping over a fire to make a point.

Jaime shrugged and they fell silent for a while. The tension between the two had always been obvious for everyone but for them. After a while, Jaime turned his face towards Brienne.

"What did you burn, by the way?", he said in a whisper, his tone a bit more serious this time.

Brienne blushed. She trusted Jaime, but she just couldn't confess she had burned her inability to tell him how much in love she was with him.

"Hm... I... I burned my body", Brienne said the first thing she could come up with, but she regretted it instantly. Even that lie was far too personal, too intimate.

"Your body? What's wrong with it?", Jaime asked with confusion in his voice.

"I... Well... It's too big?"

"Don't be silly, wench. Your body is amazing. More than one fashion model would love to have your long legs or elegant fingers", Jaime argued.

Brienne blushed even more. Was that a compliment? Coming from Jaime, it almost was a love declaration! She swallowed and took a deep breath to try to slow down her heartbeats.

"And what did you burn?", Brienne tried to keep her voice steady.

"My solitude", his tone had turned sad all of a sudden. His emerald green eyes weren't looking at her anymore, but towards the horizon.

"You're not alone, Jaime. You have Sam and Davos, Bran and Missandei... All of us."

"And do I have you, Brienne?", he asked turning his gaze to her.

With a nervous frown, Brienne nodded. She had the feeling that Jaime was really trying to cross some borderline between them.

"Of-of course you have me", she confirmed, and after a hesitant pause full of meaning, she added, "Always."

And somehow, Jaime understood that complex word as a declaration of love too. Sometimes, love appeared in the strangest of circumstances, and was often acknowledged in the oddest of ways.

Sharing a shy smile, they looked into each other's eyes, blue and green met, lit by the fire in front of them. They never knew who went for ir first, but after a few seconds, Jaime and Brienne were in each other's arms on the sand, kissing gently but determinedly. Somehow, the Summer Solstice flames had done their magic and had truly burned their fears and insecurities to bring them together at last.

Their friends looked at them from afar, sharing amused looks or high-fiving.

It seemed like a beautiful new relationship had just been born.

**Author's Note:**

> This is it. Please, write a little review, lovely readers. :)


End file.
